Discover new books on Goodreads

See if your friends have read any of Barbara Garay's books

42 ratings | 12 reviews | avg rating:5.00

Barbara’s Year In Books

Barbara’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Barbara’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to Barbara’s 2025 Year in Books

Barbara Garay’s Followers (2)

Barbara’s Bookshelves

to-read (16)
currently-reading (38)
read (49)
did-not-finish (0)

Barbara’s Friends (50)

Lindsey Charles

292 books | 161 friends

Caitlin Myers

2,170 books | 9 friends

Anahit Arustamyan

308 books | 583 friends

Dennise McClain

7 books | 5 friends

Nicole Lapas

888 books | 49 friends

Ashleigh Rayl

11 books | 10 friends

Dave Jonathan

317 books | 68 friends

Melody

83 books | 139 friends

More friends…

Barbara Garay

Goodreads Author

Born

Vilnius, Lithuania

Genre

Poetry

Influences

Rainier Marie Rilke, Friedrich Nietzsche, Simone de Beauvoir, Sartre, ...more

Member Since

February 2019

edit data

Barbara Garay was born in Vilnius, Lithuania when it was still part of the Soviet Bloc. She immigrated to America when she was six years old and has remained here ever since. Her poetry explores themes of loss, displacement, healing, trauma, pain, love, passion, introspection, and philosophy. Creative expression has always been a way to cope with early childhood trauma. She is passionate about history and philosophy and completed her baccalaureate studies in both at Loyola University Chicago.

You can buy her debut poetry book, "Beneath the Surface" on amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/css/order-h... ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Barbara Garay questions, please sign up.

Combine Editions
Barbara Garay’s books

Average rating: 4.86 · 7 ratings · 6 reviews · 1 distinct work

Beneath the Surface: A Book of Poems

4.86 avg rating — 7 ratings — 2 editions

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

5 posts
Barbara Garay's Blog

Embracing the struggle

It is our struggles that open our eyes, that take us to a place of overcoming, of learning, of flying. Embrace the struggle and persist through it, and most importantly, learn through it. Only by holding the lessons it teaches can the struggle ever be something beautiful and meaningful to our lives.

[image error]

View more on Barbara Garay's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 11, 2018 17:14

View all 5 posts »

Barbara is Currently Reading

Barbara Garay is currently reading

Paradise Lost

by John Milton

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Aug 23, 2026 10:06PM

Barbara Garay is currently reading

The Last Letter

by Rebecca Yarros (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Mar 10, 2026 06:28PM

Barbara Garay is currently reading

Death's End (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #3)

by Liu Cixin (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Jan 19, 2026 08:21PM

rss
Barbara’s Recent Updates

Barbara Garay is now friends with Dennise McClain
Sep 02, 2026 01:40PM · like
Barbara Garay is currently reading Paradise Lost by John Milton	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 23, 2026 10:06PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Paradise Lost by John Milton. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Paradise Lost by John Milton <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Barbara Garay rated a book it was amazing Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1) by Rebecca Yarros (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 28, 2026 07:51PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Barbara Garay rated a book it was amazing Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2) by Rebecca Yarros (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 28, 2026 07:50PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Barbara Garay is now following Rebecca Yarros Author of Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)
Jul 28, 2026 07:47PM · like
Barbara Garay finished reading Hellraiser Vol. 1 by Clive Barker (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 10, 2026 06:41PM · like
Barbara Garay is currently reading The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 10, 2026 06:28PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Barbara Garay rated a book it was amazing Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3) by Rebecca Yarros (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 09, 2026 03:55PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Barbara Garay is currently reading Death's End (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #3) by Liu Cixin (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 19, 2026 08:21PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Death's End by Liu Cixin. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Death's End by Liu Cixin <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Barbara Garay finished reading Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1) by Rebecca Yarros (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 15, 2025 05:39PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Barbara's books…

Quotes by Barbara Garay (?)

“In time,
everyone fades away,
transfiguring into
echoes that latch
onto our memories
and bleed our hearts dry.”
― Barbara Garay, Beneath the Surface: A Book of Poems

tags: bleeding-heart, bleeding-hearts, echoes, loss-of-love, loss-quotes, memories, temporality

3 likes

“We are bound
to memories,
to a past,
even to those full
of all that is aghast,
and yet, we must
conjure up
enough strength
to live beside
our ghosts,
unafraid."

- Barbara Garay, "Beneath the Surface: A book of poems.”
― Barbara Garay, Beneath the Surface: A Book of Poems

tags: empowerment, facing-the-past, ghosts, memories-strength, painful-past, past, unafraid

2 likes

Barbara’s Quotes

“In time,
everyone fades away,
transfiguring into
echoes that latch
onto our memories
and bleed our hearts dry.”
― Barbara Garay, Beneath the Surface: A Book of Poems

tags: bleeding-heart, bleeding-hearts, echoes, loss-of-love, loss-quotes, memories, temporality

3 likes

tags: empowerment, facing-the-past, ghosts, memories-strength, painful-past, past, unafraid

2 likes

“When the rich wage war it's the poor who die.”
― Jean-Paul Sartre, Le diable et le bon dieu

tags: class-struggle, war

1200 likes

recent posts
Barbara’s Groups

¡ POETRY ! — 22500 members — last activity Aug 31, 2026 04:34PM
No pretensions: just poetry. Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to read No pretensions: just poetry. Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to read it!) Goodreads honors wordsmiths: poets and poetry promoted and prompted here. ~~~ "Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits." -- Carl Sandburg “God has a brown voice, as soft and full as beer.” —Anne Sexton On Clouds – “…what primitive tastes the ancients must have had if their poets were inspired by those absurd, untidy clumps of mist, idiotically jostling one another about…” —Yevgeny Zamyatin “If the poet wants to be a poet, the poet must force the poet to revise. If the poet doesn’t wish to revise, let the poet abandon poetry and take up stamp-collecting or real estate.” —Donald Hall “Poetry is a rich, full-bodied whistle, cracked ice crunching in pails, the night that numbs the leaf, the duel of two nightingales, the sweet pea that has run wild, Creation’s tears in shoulder blades.” —Boris Pasternak “Wanted: a needle swift enough to sew this poem into a blanket.” —Charles Simic “Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, while all the time we long to move the stars to pity.” —Gustave Flaubert “Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It’s that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that’s what the poet does.” —Allen Ginsberg. ~~~~~ Amy King, Moderator Amy King is the recipient of the 2015 Winner of the WNBA Award (Women’s National Book Association). Her latest collection, The Missing Museum, is a winner of the 2015 Tarpaulin Sky Book Prize. She serves on the executive board of VIDA: Women in Literary Arts and is co-editing with Heidi Lynn Staples the anthology, Big Energy Poets of the Anthropocene: When Ecopoets Think Climate Change. She is also co-editing the anthology, Bettering American Poetry 2015, and is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at SUNY Nassau Community College. ...more

Goodreads Reviewers' Group — 13890 members — last activity 0 minutes ago
This group helps to bring Reviewers and Authors together! Reviewers can make their own thread to post their reviews in, or post their reviews in the r ...more

Barbara’s Friend Comments

No comments have been added yet.

Barbara Garay’s Followers (2)

Barbara Garay

Goodreads Author

rssBarbara’s Recent Updates

See a Problem?

Preview — Paradise Lost by John Milton

See a Problem?

Preview — Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

See a Problem?

Preview — Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

See a Problem?

Preview — The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros

See a Problem?

Preview — Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

See a Problem?

Preview — Death's End by Liu Cixin

See a Problem?

Preview — Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

rss
Barbara’s Recent Updates